


Accidentally in love

by cellardoors_and_petrichor



Series: I love you and I like you: A collection of ficlets [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, Accidents, Alternate Universe - High School, Best Friends, Clumsiness, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, This gives a whole new meaning to hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-19 22:19:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3626352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cellardoors_and_petrichor/pseuds/cellardoors_and_petrichor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Oliver fell in love with Felicity (or, how a series of accidents pushed Oliver and Felicity together.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Accidentally in love

_Baby, I surrender to the strawberry ice cream, never ever end of all this love._

_I didn't mean to do it, but there's no escaping your love._

⚠

Oliver met Felicity after he accidentally knocked over a beaker in their chemistry class. He gave the both of them chemical burns and a trip to the nurse’s office.

“Look, I’m so sorry…” Oliver stops, realizing halfway through his sentence that he doesn’t know her name. “What’s your name?”

She looks up from the burn mark she’s inspecting on her forearm and furrows her brow. “What?”

“I asked you for your name.” He gives her his most charming smile as he leans towards her.

“Oh. It's Felicity,” she says slowly, looking at him with suspicious eyes.

“Felicity. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. How about getting dinner with me tomorrow night?” he asks. She jumps down from the nurse’s bed, rolling her eyes as she heads to class. He’s left speechless.

⚠

The next time they met, Felicity ran into him in the hallway. Literally. Oliver's inattention and her momentum made sure that even at 5’5” Felicity could tumble them both over. He hit his head on the floor with a thud and when she fell, she knocked the air out of him.

In haste, she scrambled off him and rolled sideways, accidentally slamming her own head into the lockers.

After a short walk to the nurse's office, they sat on beds facing each other. Holding ice packs to their bumps, Oliver thinks to himself that they have got to stop meeting this way. He sits there in silence, occasionally looking up from the floor to glance at her. He never had a girl reject him before so he didn't know what to say.

She taps his sneaker with her own to get his attention before saying, “I’m sorry, Oliver.”

“It’s okay, Felicity. That’s your name, right?” He gives her a hesitant smile. Their last encounter didn’t exactly go well.

She nods.

“How did you know mine?” he asks, curious and slightly worried his reputation proceeds him.

“I may be new here, but even I’ve heard about you. Oliver Queen. Playboy billionaire,” she punctuates his last moniker with a judgmental eyebrow.

He should be offended but he laughs instead. “Playboy billionaire, huh? Sounds about right,” he jokes. As her words set in, they leave him with an uneasy feeling. Most people love the side of him that parties hard. Oliver doesn't; he puts on a show of irresponsibility because it’s easier than being groomed for a CEO position. He desperately wants anything but that. He wants to do something more meaningful with his life.

He tosses the melted ice pack in the trash and his next words come out not malicious, but rather hurt and self-conscious. “Is that all you think of me?”

Her eyes turn soft and she reaches a comforting hand across the space dividing them. As she holds his arm, she gently says, “No, that’s what other people think. I don’t know anything about you.”

It feels like her hand is burning through his school blazer. “Would you like to?” He realizes that his words sound almost like a come on, though this time he genuinely didn’t mean them to. He awkwardly tries to back peddle as he rubs the back of the neck. “I didn’t mean to, uh, what I meant to say was –” he stutters before rushing out, "I didn’t mean that to sound like a come on.”

She smiles and crinkles her nose before she says, “Usually I’m the one who is tripping over words.”

“Well, you certainly know how to trip over people,” he teases before he lets out a sigh. “Can we start over?”

“Sure. Hi, I’m Felicity Smoak.” She holds out her hand and he takes it in his own. Her hands are soft and he unconsciously rubs his thumb up and down hers. It's much more intimate than a handshake should be, but neither seem to notice.

“Oliver Queen,” he says with a smile.

They stare at each other while still holding hands for a few seconds until the bell rings. He near laments when she takes her hand back and the nurse excuses them.

⚠

The third time they met, Oliver really messed up. He thought the chemistry lab incident was bad enough, but it paled in comparison to this.

He and Tommy had been throwing around a football outside. It was after school and there weren't many people about so he quickly noticed Felicity sitting in the bleachers. She was doing her homework and Oliver wished he had a good enough reason to bother her. Instead, he tossed the ball back and forth with Tommy. At one point, Tommy threw the ball long towards the bleachers and Oliver ran to catch it.

Too focused on catching the ball, Oliver didn’t notice Felicity stand up. Too focused on packing her bag, Felicity didn’t notice Oliver running up the bleachers.

When the two collide, Felicity falls and Oliver tries, but fails, to catch her. He sprains his wrist in the process, though at that moment he can’t sense anything but the sound of her fall and subsequent pained cry.

Oliver drops to the floor and ignores the bruises undoubtedly forming on his knees as he gently takes her face in his hands.

“Felicity! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” He asks. When she doesn’t open her eyes and tears start streaming, he realizes she’s really hurt. He tries to help her up but she protests. He can already see the nasty swelling so he picks her up in a bridal carry and runs her to his car.

“Where are you going?” Tommy asks from the other end of the parking lot. After Oliver gets Felicity situated in the back seat and closes the door, he responds.

“Where do you think I’m going, the nurse’s office? I’m going to the fucking hospital, man. Call them and get me a private room,” Oliver says, promptly getting in the driver seat and racing to Starling General.

Oliver gets her out of the back, and as she whimpers he holds onto her tighter and presses a kiss to the top of her head. He doesn’t realize until after he does it that it’s too affectionate. His face feels hot with embarrassment and he hopes she didn’t notice. Once she gets set with pain medicine and a cast, Felicity takes a look around. Oliver is leaning against the windowsill, biting his cuticles nervously.

“Oliver. I can’t afford this. I’m at the academy on a scholarship. My mom works two jobs,” Felicity starts to panic and Oliver looks at her with a confused expression.

“I already paid for it,” he says as he cocks his head to the side.

“I don’t need your charity,” Felicity says, obviously irritated. As she tries to get up from the bed, he rushes to her side.

“It’s not charity, Felicity. This was my fault. I just wanted to make sure you got the best care available,” he reasons with her before he adds, “Can I give you a ride home?”

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Felicity says with a sardonic grin. Despite her attitude, Oliver gives her a sweet smile.

He notices Felicty relaxes in the car, most likely due to the side effects of the drugs. At a stoplight, he takes a moment to look at her. Even with her hair out of sorts and her make-up smudged, he thinks she's so enthralling. The only good thing to have come out of this whole fiasco is that he got to spend time with her, though that isn't very likely to happen again. When he walks her to her front door, he realizes he hasn’t apologized since she was first hurt.

At the doorstep, Oliver touches her shoulder. “I’m so sorry Felicity,” he says and tries to make sure his voice reflects his sincerity.

She lets out a heavy sigh, “It’s okay, Oliver. I know you didn’t mean to do it.” She gives him a small smile, a real one this time, as she closes her front door. 

The next day at school, he sees her struggling. Oliver feels compelled to help and his actions are originally fueled by an intense amount of guilt. He may have a sprained wrist, but at least he’s not the one with a broken leg. During the first week after their incident, he spends the whole time holding her books. He walks her between classes. He even starts to drive her back and forth from school when he finds out she takes the bus.

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Felicity says while sitting in his passenger seat.

“Do what?” Oliver asks with a quick glance.

“Carry my books and drive me around. I meant it when I said it’s okay. It was an accident,” she says calmly.

“Maybe I like doing it for you,” he counters.

“Don’t you have better things to do with your time?”

“Nope. Nowhere else I’d rather be,” Oliver says with a grin. He doesn’t realize how true it is until the words have slipped past his lips.

The next few weeks pass much the same and Felicity puts up less and less resistance each day. As they grow closer, their time spent together becomes less awkward. They become friends and they learn things about each other. Oliver tells her about Thea and introduces her to Tommy; Felicity tells him about her mom and her dreams of attending MIT.

But outside of school they don't spend much time with each other, though not for a lack of wanting from Oliver. He wants to know all the little things about her. What she likes to wear when she isn't in her school uniform, how she eats Oreos, if she presses snooze in the morning. He wants to know everything.

Needless to say, Oliver is nervous six weeks later when he drives her to her hospital appointment. The hospital appointment where she gets her cast removed. The hospital appointment where she might not need him anymore.

“Do you, uh, want me to stay out here or…?” Oliver asks awkwardly after helping her out of the car.

“Oh, I just kind of assumed you were going to come in but you can stay here if you want,” she tells him with a smile, oblivious to his anxiety.

“No!” he says too quickly “Lead the way, I'll try not to bodycheck you,” he jokes, trying to diffuse his own awkwardness and anxiety.

Once she gets the cast taken off, she gives him a twirl and asks, “How do I look?”

“Like a million bucks,” Oliver replies, “Trust me, I know what a million bucks looks like.”

She laughs and he realizes that she is quickly becoming one of his best friends. But that doesn't necessarily mean he is one of hers. As they make their way down to his car, he walks slowly in case this is the last time that she will voluntarily spend time with him.

“Hurry up, slow poke,” Felicity says from three feet ahead.

When they make it to her car, Felicity gets in by herself and is all smiles, happy to finally be completely autonomous. Oliver is less enthused, not because he wants her to still be dependent on him. He wants her to be happy and healthy, but he wants her to be happy and healthy with him. He starts the car and drives. Felicity doesn’t seem to notice his internal struggle.

“So. I was thinking we should celebrate. Maybe call Tommy and meet up at Big Belly Burger?” She proposes. He beams.

“That sounds great. Give him a call.”

From that moment on, their friendship is set in stone. By the end of their junior year, they are inseparable. Over the course of the summer, however, there is a shift in their relationship.

⚠

It's hot and sticky. Felicity and Oliver spend most of their days swimming. They have water fights and drink cold lemonade (sometimes with a shot or two of vodka). One particularly hot day in July, Oliver looks at her unlike ever before. 

The sunlight is shimmering, the light illuminating her hair. His eyes accidentally rake over her bikini-clad body. He wonders when she became so attractive. He always knew she was beautiful, but until now he never  _wanted_. He wants to untie her bikini top and run his hands down the front of her body, palming her breasts. He wants to slide them down her stomach and wrap them behind. He wants to slide his hands under her bikini bottom and grab her ass to pull her against him. He wants to claim her mouth with his. But most of all, he wants her to want him.

As his less than platonic feelings blossom over the course of summer, he wonders if he'll ever have the courage to ask her out again. And if she'll take him seriously this time.

⚠

Oliver wakes up to a headache of massive proportions. He looks around and finds himself in a hospital, but he can't remember why. It takes effort to recall the car accident. He had been driving Felicity home.

“Welcome to the land of the living, man”, Tommy weakly jokes. He looks weary and the way his hair is sitting lets Oliver know he's been running his hands through it.

“What happened? Is Felicity okay?” He asks quickly.

“Some asshole ran a red light and hit your car. The passenger side of your car was crushed, the fire fighters had to use the jaws of life so it's pretty much totaled. As for you, well, you have a nasty concussion.” Tommy glances to the floor. Oliver's stomach drops when he realizes Tommy didn't answer his question about Felicity.

“Is she –,” Oliver tries to get out the words, but he can't. His mind is running with all the possible scenarios and none of them end well.

Tommy must sense his despair so he says, “She's not okay but she's alive. You've just been out for a few hours but she hasn't woken up yet. They had to put her on a ventilator.”

Oliver pulls out his IV and throws his leg over the side of the bed, testing for any injury. He's pleased to find that he can walk. He looks at his friend and says, “Can you get us in a room together? And make sure I'm paying her hospital bills.”

Tommy nods and doesn't even try to stop Oliver from leaving after he finds out what room Felicity is in.

Oliver runs through the halls of the hospital and nearly skids out of control as he tries to stop himself from running past her room. He holds on to the doorframe but doesn’t dare step inside. If he steps inside, it becomes real. Even from here, she looks small and the pallor of her skin accentuates her bruises. He doesn’t even notice Donna has walked across the room until she’s right in front of him. She puts a comforting hand on his bicep and pulls him into the room as she steps out of it, giving him privacy.

He walks ever so slowly over to her. He can’t stop staring at the tubes and wires keeping her alive. A car accident. He laughs incredulously as he sits down and grabs her hand.

“Felicity, please wake up. You shouldn't be here. I finally work up the courage to ask you out and now I –”  _might never get the chance_. His eyes fill with tears and he holds onto her hand gently while he starts to silently sob.

Once discharged, he visits her every day for two weeks, each time becoming more disheartened to find her still in a coma. Yet, he never fails to show up after school. He talks to her and stays until the nurses kick him out at the end of visiting hours. And every night as he falls asleep, he hopes tomorrow is the day she wakes up.

⚠

Oliver is zoning out in English class when the teacher calls his name.

“Queen?”

“Hmm?” He asks as he sits up from his slouched position.

“You’ve been called up to the front office.” The teacher holds out a slip to him.

When he sees Donna through the window, his heart drops. She looks like she has been crying. He walks through the door and the devastation must be clear on his face because she runs over and hugs him. It doesn’t make him feel better. As she pulls back, she smiles.

“Oliver, sweetie, these are happy tears. She’s awake!”

They make their way to the hospital and Oliver is keyed up the entire time. He can’t stop bouncing his leg or chewing on his cuticles. He’s so nervous and he doesn’t even know why. That’s a lie. He does know why. In these past two weeks he has realized that somewhere along the way, he has accidentally fallen in love with his best friend. He takes a deep breath before opening her room, trying to think of what he should say.

When he sees her beaming at him, looking a little tired and worn but so much better, his mind stills. He doesn't need words to make her understand. As he walks over, she begins talking.

“Oliver, hey thanks for –” is all she can get out until he’s holding her face and kissing her forehead softly. He pulls back far enough to lean his forehead against hers for at least a minute before pulling away only slightly.

“You’re not allowed to get in another accident ever again,” he says with a smile. Felicity doesn't fail to notice that is words are heavy and laced with the fear he’s felt since he first saw her in this bed.

“Okay,” she says slowly as she searches his eyes and touches his cheek where bruises are still fading. “Oliver, are you alright?”

“I'm fine. Great now actually. You know, I, uh, came here every day since the accident. And I would always tell you that I was so sorry because I thought I felt guilty. And then I realized, that that's not what I felt.”

“And what did you feel?” Felicity asks unfazed, despite the fact he isn't usually so candid about his feelings.

“I felt so bad because I worried that I would never get the chance to tell you that…”

“That…?”

“I love you,” Oliver confesses with a whisper, unconsciously moving slightly closer. He feels so much lighter.

She seems to glow at that and any residual anxiety he is feeling is gone after she says, “I love you too.”

When they kiss, Oliver thinks the world feels a little brighter.

⚠

Five years and one unplanned pregnancy later, their baby girl looks up at Oliver for the first time and he thinks that maybe not all accidents are so bad.

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello there gorgeous!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed my shameless use of such a cliché title. Props to Counting Crows and _Shrek 2_ on that one.
> 
> Less sarcastically, I would like to add that I really really like this fic and I hope you did too. Please leave me comments, they are one of my favorite things. Much love ~


End file.
